


In All My Dreams I Drown

by Angel Ascending (angel_in_ink)



Series: Short and Sweet (Fics of About 1000 Words or Less) [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Campaign One, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Nightmares, Spoilers through Episode 88
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-28 03:34:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10069358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angel_in_ink/pseuds/Angel%20Ascending
Summary: All of Percy's adult life, he had dreamt of drowning.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is the result of staying up all night watching Critical Role, getting an hour sleep, and having one of my favorite songs from the movie The Devil's Carnival stuck in my head all at the same time. Plug the fic title into YouTube for a great song.

All of Percy’s adult life, he had dreamt of drowning.  
  
During the two years he had spent adrift, before he had found purpose, his nights had been filled with dreams of torture and pain, the jump into the freezing water that had been his savior and almost his death. Coughing and gasping, he’d wake up with guilt and regret burning in the back of his throat like cold river water. Sometimes he was grateful that he was awake, alive. More often he wished he had drowned.  
  
Then Orthax had come to him in the night, promised him revenge on those who had taken his family away from him. For a while Percy stopped dreaming of the river, his head filled with ideas and plans for the weapon that would deliver his vengeance. If some nights he woke up coughing from the feeling of smoke pouring into him, or woke shaking from dreams of the blood of his enemies engulfing him and dragging him down, filling his lungs, well, that was a small price to pay.  
  
Now, though, he is dreaming of the ocean they had been in only hours before. Around him the dark water swirls with ink, and out of the darkness the Kraken rises, monstrous and terrifying, its eyes burning with intelligence and malice. Percy can’t move, no matter how hard he tries, he's helpless and useless as the Kraken ensnares his friends, his found family, the woman he loves. They are all devoured, one by one, and all Percy can do is watch as their blood stains the water.  
  
The kraken laughs an old familiar laugh, and now Percy can move, now he can swim towards the surface, towards light that dims even as he pushes himself to go faster. The laughter follows him, Orthax’s laughter, the cold voice in his head telling him that all that he loves will die, that he will be helpless to stop it. He will die alone, in the dark, and even death will not bring him peace. Percy swims harder, but the small light above recedes from his vision as the water in his lungs suddenly holds no oxygen, the magic gone, as fickle and prone to failure as he has always believed.  
  
Percy wakes in bed gasping and shaking, Vex’s arms around him, her voice in his ear murmuring softly. He clings to her, breathes in the scent of her until he can no longer feel the cold in his lungs, kisses her until he can no longer taste salt water on his lips. If she feels his tears on her skin, she says nothing about it.  
  
Vex doesn’t have to ask Percy what’s wrong. His gasping woke her out of her own dark dreams. She holds him close, strokes his soft white hair, makes soothing noises. When he kisses her she keeps her eyes open, because when she closes them she can still see the lifeless body of her brother drifting in the water.  
  
They hold each other until dawn, each one clinging to the other as if they were a lifeline against the tide of their dreams.

**Author's Note:**

> You can follow my Tumblr at angel-ascending.tumblr.com, or just stop by and say hi!


End file.
